What arrived wrapped in a parchment sleeve hardly resembled the wannabe souvlakis found in greasy sub shops around town. Instead, the folks at Greek Corner wrap their charred chunks of marinated lamb in a soft, warm pita and top them with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, parsley, and a cool cucumber-yogurt sauce ($5.25).

The second indication that we had come to a first-rate Greek establishment came from the crowds of diners that started pouring in shortly after 7 pm, when the July air outside the Cambridge restaurant had mellowed to a temperature reasonable enough for eating again. Crammed around modest tables, large families dove into bowls of tangy Avgolemono soup ($2.45/cup; $3.65/bowl) with strips of torn pita bread, followed quickly by the stuffed grape leaves, flaky spanakopita, and garlicky hummus-drizzled falafel spheres from the combination vegetable plates ($9.50).

The third indication that this was food to be taken seriously: even the under-10 crowd took breaks from handfuls of hand-cut, skin-on Greek fries ($3.50) seasoned with grated cheese, oregano, and lemon juice and honeyed triangles of baklava ($2.25) to eat falafel. How many restaurants (or, for that matter, parents) can say they get kids to eat chick peas?

Rincon Limeño I’ve often called East Boston our city’s most overlooked cheap-eats destination.

Anise Be careful what you wish for. I have been asking Chinese restaurants to upscale their service, shorten their menus, make clear what the chef’s specialties really are, and offer the more-authentic dishes on the English-language menu.

A shadow world The centerpiece of Lauren Fensterstock’s installation at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art is what appears to be a large black pool with giant lily pads.

THE REAL DEAL | July 18, 2007 Last we left Tony Soprano, he was hunched over a basket of onion rings in a New Jersey diner.

KOOKOO | October 27, 2008 Much like the pottery studio on the Station Street block in Brookline Village, Kookoo is practically imperceptible to the average passerby. In fact, were it not for the chalkboard easel of menu items out front on the sidewalk, you could easily miss it — but your loss would be considerable.